First Round: Isles v. Canes Defensive Break-Downs
By Chris Baker
The First Round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs starts tonight, and the Carolina Hurricanes have drawn the New York Islanders. Here is an updated rundown of the Cane and Isles defensive lines as they match up. As far as the series goes, the “Most Junior Canes Reporter” says he likes “Brent Burns better than Sebastian Aho,” so I am going to assume that is a “Canes in four” prediction, because who doesn’t like our Sebastian Aho??
Breakdown
Canes Line One (Brent Burns, Jaccob Slavin)
Season: 25 G 63 A 88 P
Last Five: 4 G, 1 A, 5 P
Isles Line One (Adam Pelech, Ryan Pulock)
Season: 11 G 37 A 48 P
Last Five: 2 G, 2 A, 4 P
Canes Line Two (Brett Pesce, Brady Skjei)
Season: 23 G 45 A 68 P
Last Five: 1 G, 2 A, 3 P
Isles Line Two( Sebastian Aho, Scott Mayfield)
Season: 6 G 39 A 45 P
Last Five: 1 G, 4 A, 5 P
Canes Line Three (Shayne Gostisbehere, Jalen Chatfield)
Season: 9 G 15 A 24 P
Last Five: 1 G, 3 A, 4 P
Isles Line Three (Samuel Bulduc, Noah Dobson)
Season: 14 G 29 A 43 P
Last Five: 1 G, 7 A, 8 P
Canes Totals
Season: 66 G, 137 A, 203 P
Last Five 6 G, 4 A, 10 P
Isles Total
Season 31 G, 105 A, 136 P
Last Five 4 G 13 A, 17 P
“Defense wins championships” as the adage goes. You can tell pretty clearly the Canes have been playing for first place in the division, while the Isles have been playing for their season in the first place. Still the Canes’ defense has a commanding place in the point production not only for the last five but the season. For the Isles, their defensive unit has just stepped up in it’s current configuration.
Carolina’s line of Brent Burns and Jaccob Slavin have been a point at night over the last three with Burns’ big time night against the Florida Panthers. His two goals helped keep Carolina ahead against Florida and staved off a late third period comeback effort. The Pesce/Skjei line, as I have said many times, will be critical for the Canes. They have a collective 3 points over the last five leading into the playoffs. Brett Pesce has one of his biggest, if not the biggest goal of his year against Ottawa to tie up the Senators and the Canes. Look for him to bring at the very least consistent mistake free hockey and remember that if Brett Pesce scores, the Canes typically win (75% of the time to be exact).
New York’s defense is patched and pieced together. Their lines rotate frequently and often players are in and out nightly. Just recently repaired Adam Pelech and Ryan Pulock have been leading the defensive efforts for the Isles. This first line has six combined points over the last five with 48 combined for the season. Maybe the worst line for the Isles is the Bulduc/ Dobson line. I think I called this line a “training line” when I first took a look at the matchups. Dobson has pulled Samuel Bulduc along for the ride in the 17 games he has been up with the club. I suppose he is just “here to help the club, and take it one day at a time”
Defensive, from first to third the Canes stack head and shoulders over the Isles..still…defensively. This, along with the home ice advantage won by winning the Metro Division,should be helpful for Carolina. As we have seen, Carolina is winning and dying by the defensive sword. If the offensive continues to falter, the defense is there to pick up the slack. This means the Canes’ goaltenders Anti Raanta, and Frederik Andersen have got to step into the breach as the last line of defense. And you may well guess, I contended Raanta has been far better at this lately than Andersen. Whoever is in the net for the Canes will need to carry the heavy load of the defense as it applies offensive pressure for the Canes on the forecheck. Look for all three lines of the Canes defense to isolate and shut down whatever line combos the Isles decide to throw out.